A Finite Element Analysis of the Utah Thistle Failure

In the Spring of 1983, a large landslide occurred near the town of Thistle, Utah which blocked major transportation routes and impounded the Spanish Fork River, inundating the town with 200 feet of water. While much attention has been given to the slide and its impact, very little has been directed toward a quantitative understanding of its causes. An analysis was performed of the Thistle landslide using the SEEPSLOPE finite element system in order to evaluate the mechanisms, factors, and causes of the failure. An elastic, perfectly-plastic stress-strain curve was employed in the analysis to model the behavior of the overconsolidated clay soils. It is concluded that the landslide was a compound, progressive failure which initiated at the toe and progressed uphill. Seepage forces played a significant role in the failure

Parental psychological control dimensions: Connections with Russian preschoolers\u27 physical and relational aggression

Parental psychological control generally consists of overinvolved/protective and critical/rejecting elements, both being linked to children\u27s psychosocial maladjustment. The critical/rejecting element is multidimensional in nature, and few studies have explored this conceptual fullness. It is possible that some dimensions, if they can be statistically differentiated, are uniquely tied to various child behaviors. This may help resolve some of the inconsistency apparent across studies, such as studies of relational aggression. Accordingly, we examined the association between parental psychological control and childhood physical and relational aggression using a dimensional approach. Participants were 204 Russian preschoolers and their parents. The results revealed that dimensions of psychosocial control (i.e., shaming/disappointment, constraining verbal expressions, invalidating feelings, love withdrawal, and guilt induction) could be statistically differentiated, even though most dimensions tended to be significantly correlated. Furthermore, all dimensions, except for invalidating feelings, were significantly associated with childhood aggression, but predominantly in same-gender parent-child dyads. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

The Lag Model Applied to High Speed Flows

The Lag model has shown great promise in prediction of low speed and transonic separations. The predictions of the model, along with other models (Spalart-Allmaras and Menter SST) are assessed for various high speed flowfields. In addition to skin friction and separation predictions, the prediction of heat transfer are compared among these models, and some fundamental building block flowfields, are investigated

A study and photodocumentation of the lens-cornea fitting relationship of the Silsight lens

The objective of this research project was to study and photodocument the fitting of the Silsight contact lens. Criteria for the photodocumentation were to be supplied by the sponsoring company, Dow Corning Ophthalmics. It was also our intent to investigate corneal changes which may have been incurred by the contact lens user study. At the time this project was begun, the Silsight contact lens was FDA approved and available to the general public

Probing open- and closed-channel p-wave resonances

We study the near-threshold molecular and collisional physics of a strong $^{40}$K p-wave Feshbach resonance through a combination of measurements, numerical calculations, and modeling. Dimer spectroscopy employs both radio-frequency spin-flip association in the MHz band and resonant association in the kHz band. Systematic uncertainty in the measured binding energy is reduced by a model that includes both the Franck-Condon overlap amplitude and inhomogeneous broadening. Coupled-channels calculations based on mass-scaled $^{39}$K potentials compare well to the observed binding energies and also reveal a low-energy p-wave shape resonance in the open channel. Contrary to conventional expectation, we observe a nonlinear variation of the binding energy with magnetic field, and explain how this arises from the interplay of the closed-channel ramping state with the near-threshold shape resonance in the open channel. We develop an analytic two-channel model that includes both resonances as well as the dipole-dipole interactions which, we show, become important at low energy. Using this parameterization of the energy dependence of the scattering phase, we can classify the studied $^{40}$K resonance as broad. Throughout the paper, we compare to the well understood s-wave case, and discuss the significant role played by van der Waals physics. The resulting understanding of the dimer physics of p-wave resonances provides a solid foundation for future exploration of few- and many-body orbital physics.Comment: v4: new appendi

Molecular mechanism of biased signaling at the kappa opioid receptor

The κ-opioid receptor (KOR) has emerged as an attractive drug target for pain management without addiction, and biased signaling through particular pathways of KOR may be key to maintaining this benefit while minimizing side-effect liabilities. As for most G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), however, the molecular mechanisms of ligand-specific signaling at KOR have remained unclear. To better understand the molecular determinants of KOR signaling bias, we apply structure determination, atomic-level molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and functional assays. We determine a crystal structure of KOR bound to the G protein-biased agonist nalfurafine, the first approved KOR-targeting drug. We also identify an arrestin-biased KOR agonist, WMS-X600. Using MD simulations of KOR bound to nalfurafine, WMS-X600, and a balanced agonist U50,488, we identify three active-state receptor conformations, including one that appears to favor arrestin signaling over G protein signaling and another that appears to favor G protein signaling over arrestin signaling. These results, combined with mutagenesis validation, provide a molecular explanation of how agonists achieve biased signaling at KOR

A Brownian motion version of the directed polymer problem

Consider a Brownian particle in three dimensions in a random environment. The environment is determined by a potential random in space and time. It is shown that at small noise the large-time behavior of the particle is diffusive. The diffusion constant depends on the environment. This work generalizes previous results for random walk in a random environment. In these results the diffusion constant does not depend on the environment.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45170/1/10955_2005_Article_BF02179650.pd

Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Critical Illness-Related Corticosteroid Insufficiency (CIRCI) in Critically Ill Patients (Part I): Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) 2017

Objective: To update the 2008 consensus statements for the diagnosis and management of critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency (CIRCI) in adult and pediatric patients. Participants: A multispecialty task force of 16 international experts in critical care medicine, endocrinology, and guideline methods, all of them members of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and/or the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine. Design/Methods: The recommendations were based on the summarized evidence from the 2008 document in addition to more recent findings from an updated systematic review of relevant studies from 2008 to 2017 and were formulated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology. The strength of each recommendation was classified as strong or conditional, and the quality of evidence was rated from high to very low based on factors including the individual study design, the risk of bias, the consistency of the results, and the directness and precision of the evidence. Recommendation approval required the agreement of at least 80% of the task force members. Results: The task force was unable to reach agreement on a single test that can reliably diagnose CIRCI, although delta cortisol (change in baseline cortisol at 60min of < 9 g/dL) after cosyntropin (250 g) administration and a random plasma cortisol of < 10 g/dL may be used by clinicians. We suggest against using plasma-free cortisol or salivary cortisol level over plasma total cortisol (conditional, very low quality of evidence). For treatment of specific conditions, we suggest using IV hydrocortisone < 400mg/day for 3 days at full dose in patients with septic shock that is not responsive to fluid and moderate- to high-dose vasopressor therapy (conditional, low quality of evidence). We suggest not using corticosteroids in adult patients with sepsis without shock (conditional recommendation, moderate quality of evidence). We suggest the use of IV methylprednisolone 1mg/kg/day in patients with early moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (PaO2/FiO(2) < 200 and within 14 days of onset) (conditional, moderate quality of evidence). Corticosteroids are not suggested for patients with major trauma (conditional, low quality of evidence). Conclusions: Evidence-based recommendations for the use of corticosteroids in critically ill patients with sepsis and septic shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and major trauma have been developed by a multispecialty task force

Spitzer Survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud, Surveying the Agents of a Galaxy's Evolution (SAGE) I: Overview and Initial Results

We are performing a uniform and unbiased, ~7x7 degrees imaging survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), using the IRAC and MIPS instruments on board the Spitzer Space Telescope in order to survey the agents of a galaxy's evolution (SAGE), the interstellar medium (ISM) and stars in the LMC. The detection of diffuse ISM with column densities >1.2x10^21 H cm^-2 permits detailed studies of dust processes in the ISM. SAGE's point source sensitivity enables a complete census of newly formed stars with masses >3 solar masses that will determine the current star formation rate in the LMC. SAGE's detection of evolved stars with mass loss rates >1x10^-8 solar masses per year will quantify the rate at which evolved stars inject mass into the ISM of the LMC. The observing strategy includes two epochs in 2005, separated by three months, that both mitigate instrumental artifacts and constrain source variability. The SAGE data are non-proprietary. The data processing includes IRAC and MIPS pipelines and a database for mining the point source catalogs, which will be released to the community in support of Spitzer proposal cycles 4 and 5. We present initial results on the epoch 1 data with a special focus on the N79 and N83 region. The SAGE epoch 1 point source catalog has ~4 million sources. The point source counts are highest for the IRAC 3.6 microns band and decrease dramatically towards longer wavelengths consistent with the fact that stars dominate the point source catalogs and that the dusty objects, e.g. young stellar objects and dusty evolved stars that detected at the longer wavelengths, are rare in comparison. We outline a strategy for identifying foreground MW stars, that may comprise as much as 18% of the source list, and background galaxies, that may comprise ~12% of the source list.Comment: Accepted by the Astronomical Journa

Critical Illness-Related Corticosteroid Insufficiency (CIRCI): A Narrative Review from a Multispecialty Task Force of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM)

Objective: To provide a narrative review of the latest concepts and understanding of the pathophysiology of critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency (CIRCI). Participants: A multi-specialty task force of international experts in critical care medicine and endocrinology and members of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine. Data Sources: Medline, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Results: Three major pathophysiologic events were considered to constitute CIRCI: dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, altered cortisol metabolism, and tissue resistance to glucocorticoids. The dysregulation of the HPA axis is complex, involving multidirectional crosstalk between the CRH/ACTH pathways, autonomic nervous system, vasopressinergic system, and immune system. Recent studies have demonstrated that plasma clearance of cortisol is markedly reduced during critical illness, explained by suppressed expression and activity of the primary cortisol-metabolizing enzymes in the liver and kidney. Despite the elevated cortisol levels during critical illness, tissue resistance to glucocorticoids is believed to occur due to insufficient glucocorticoid alpha-mediated anti-inflammatory activity. Conclusions: Novel insights into the pathophysiology of CIRCI add to the limitations of the current diagnostic tools to identify at-risk patients and may also impact how corticosteroids are used in patients with CIRCI